Council to vote on final $5B City of Ottawa budget today
CTV
Council will vote on the final 2025 City of Ottawa budget on Wednesday and residents can expect to pay more in taxes next year.
Council will vote on the final 2025 City of Ottawa budget on Wednesday and residents can expect to pay more in taxes next year.
The $5 billion budget as it stands includes a 3.9 per cent property tax hike for most homeowners as well as increases to transit fares, recreation fees, parking and a variety of city services.
If passed, a 2.9 per cent property tax increase plus a hike to the transit levy would raise the average urban property tax bill by $168 in 2025. The draft budget earmarks an eight per cent increase to the transit levy, an approximately one per cent increase in taxes to most homeowners.
Property taxes are set to remain lower than many Canadian cities but is among one of the highest increases Ottawa has seen in years. Other cities have placed significantly higher tax burdens on their residents this year, including Toronto: 9.5 per cent, Vancouver: 7.5 per cent, Edmonton: 8.9 per cent and Calgary: 7.8 per cent.
Ottawa is facing significant budgetary strains, prompting Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to launch a "Fairness for Ottawa" campaign this year to appeal for more funding from higher levels of government while sticking to a campaign promise to keep property taxes low. In addition to increases to fares and the transit levy, the budget includes $36 million in "expected funding from senior levels of government," which has not been confirmed.
"While we wait for more sustainable funding solutions, we're going to have to do a lot of patchwork and use a lot of duct tape to get through each budget year," Sutcliffe told CTV News last month.
Sutcliffe has said the 2025 budget includes a "historic investment" in public transit, with OC Transpo's budget increasing $88 million to $856 million. The city plans to open the Trillium Line next month and the eastern extension of the Confederation Line later next year.
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Council will vote on the final 2025 City of Ottawa budget on Wednesday and residents can expect to pay more in taxes next year.